Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0679

A public key algorithm that does both encryption and digital signature is which of the following?

A.
RSA
B. DES
C. IDEA
D. Diffie-Hellman

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

RSA can be used for encryption, key exchange, and digital signatures. Key Exchange versus key Agreement
KEY EXCHANGE Key exchange (also known as “key establishment”) is any method in cryptography by which cryptographic keys are exchanged between users, allowing use of a cryptographic algorithm.
If sender and receiver wish to exchange encrypted messages, each must be equipped to encrypt messages to be sent and decrypt messages received. The nature of the equipping they require depends on the encryption technique they might use. If they use a code, both will require a copy of the same codebook. If they use a cipher, they will need appropriate keys. If the cipher is a symmetric key cipher, both will need a copy of the same key. If an asymmetric key cipher with the public/private key property, both will need the other’s public key.
KEY AGREEMENT Diffie-Hellman is a key agreement algorithm used by two parties to agree on a shared secret. The Diffie Hellman (DH) key agreement algorithm describes a means for two parties to agree upon a shared secret over a public network in such a way that the secret will be unavailable to eavesdroppers. The DH algorithm converts the shared secret into an arbitrary amount of keying material. The resulting keying material is used as a symmetric encryption key.
The other answers are not correct because: DES and IDEA are both symmetric algorithms. Diffie-Hellman is a common asymmetric algorithm, but is used only for key agreement. It is not typically used for data encryption and does not have digital signature capability.
References: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2631 For Diffie-Hellman information: http://www.netip.com/articles/keith/diffie-helman.htm